Mirror, mirror on the World Wide Web

Products, people, places have been tagged with a brand. How come shopping at Neiman Marcus has a different feel to it then Fallas Paredes? Why would I rather fly across the world to see a friend then drive a couple of miles to see a relative? Why do people dream about going to Hawaii? Does Corpus Christi not have water and sand?

None of these feelings “just happened.” It is all intentional. Branding is communicating to people you serve how you want them to feel. It is a created culture that you want to have the public associate with a name, a logo, a slogan, a company.

Much like a mirror, branding reflects you.

Have been working with the team over at Andrade Design to best accurately share comedian Cleto Rodriguez‘ image. If you are from San Antonio, you may know Cleto as a clean comedian who started off with a late night webcast that led to “The Cleto Show” that originally aired on KABB Fox San Antonio and is still available on Time Warner Cable On Demand in San Antonio and Austin. Now Cleto has “Where’s Cleto?” segments weekdays on News 4 WOAI Today.

So why the redesign?

Cleto is having more national opportunities come his way and a site needs to more clearly introduce himself to past, current and potential contacts.

“Websites and online channels are the main ways people encounter your brand,” said John Andrade, CEO and creative director of Andrade Design. “It used to be just TV and radio, but now it is mainly Web and social media.”

John points out that traditional forms of communication (radio, TV, print) are still important, but he forecasts that online contact will overshadow those means within the next 5 years.

Part of Wednesday was dedicated to taking photos of Cleto around downtown San Antonio for the relaunch. A special thank you to the people behind the photo shoot and branding initiative you may never see: John, Anthony Burchell, Sandra Silva, Kelsey Graves, Lynette Rodriguez, Bob Moher and myself.

Be sure to check out more about branding and creating this online culture on San Antonio Living at 10 a.m. Friday, June 10.